Ahead of the Curve: October 5, 2013

In the News: Financial Literacy, Beyond the Classroom New York Times: October 5, 2013 How to Be a College ‘Resimuter‘ Washington Post: October 2, 2013 UC’s Twist on Crowdfunding Inspires Students San Francisco Chronicle: September 18, 2013 From Our Clients: Quarter Grades/Midterms–conversations with teachers to identify academic areas for improvement, as well as what the student…

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Part 2: Learning May Not Be Simple–The Student’s Perspective

In Part One of our “Learning May Not Be Simple” series, we discussed the complexities of presenting new information in an average classroom, as well as how a teacher’s management of the class can influence the learning process.  The following highlights the student’s perspective and the complications of understanding new information, particularly for high school…

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Learn HOW to Learn: The Legacy of Mr. Coombs

At this time of the school year–after first semester grades and well-into the next semester–I receive increased requests for tutor referrals.  Parents and students naturally assume that a less than expected grade in a class is due to content deficit–that somehow the student just “isn’t getting it”; “it” being the ideas and concepts presented in…

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Teaching Style Can Create Stress Among Some Students in a Classroom of Thirty Five Students

Today’s podcast is an edited conversation with a client (high school junior) who was attempting to identify pressure surrounding the day-to-day academic grind. Within the broader conversation, the student suggested that the teaching style of their AP English teacher was creating undo stress and anxiety on the part of the student and their family.

Grades Don’t Only Measure Learning

Grades are a complex mix of a student’s performance meeting the teacher’s grading standards, managing assignments so they’re completed & returned to the teacher on time, AS WELL AS actually learning the concepts in class.  Too often, the last part–the learning & understanding–is the only part that consumes students’, teachers’ and parents’ efforts, when a…

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Standardized Testing: The Good, The Bad and A Hmmmm…Moment

Bob Schaeffer of FairTest, an organization committed to a fair use of standardized testing in K-12 schools and college admissions, recently spoke with Creative Marbles about assessments.  Our conversation reminded me of questions I’ve been asking since I was a beginning teacher, “How do we know (i.e. grasp clearly in the mind) what another has…

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